Late season

[duckhunter38135]

I'm hunting very high pressured public land birds. I haven't been able to hunt for the last three weeks. What's some tactics for late season pressured birds who have seen and heard it all?

 

[fredfred]

Cluck! That's about all I give a hard hunted bird and not many of them. A nice pretty yelp will scare a Catoosa bird worse that shooting at them this time of year

 

[chebuck]

I don't hunt public land birds but have hunted preasured birds. And scratching in the leaves like a turkey would will give them a little more confedence and sometimes it will bring them in when a call won't. 2 with the left and one with the right pause and repeat.

 

[Setterman]

I do hunt public land birds exclusively and don't change anything from the start to the finish. Turkeys hear yelping all year round, in my experience it makes no difference as long as you set up good, and have a receptive gobbler.

The birds where I hunt have long since learned to go silent when they hear vehicles or 4 wheelers though, as there's a ton of idiots around here that ride and call all day long. Again, and I can't emphasize the idiocy of this tactic and my disdain for it.

If you find a bird right now without hens who has had hens all spring he will run you over and normal yelps will work just fine

 

[TheLBLman]

The birds where I hunt have long since learned to go silent when they hear vehicles or 4 wheelers though, as there's a ton of idiots around here that ride and call all day long. Again, and I can't emphasize the idiocy of this tactic and my disdain for it.

I agree.
But I assure you that idiocy is not limited to public lands, and may be just as prevalent on most "private" lands. But like you said, in the absence of such unnatural disturbances, the birds seem to behave more naturally and respond to a hunter's call, at all times of the season.

Personally, I experience this ATV problem more on private lands, and I do quite a bit of hunting on public lands. But I do tend now to only hunt public lands where ATV's are not allowed. I have no desire to ever go back hunting at Catoosa WMA since the ATV noise totally destroyed the aesthetics of what otherwise would have been a great morning, last time I went.

It is not uncommon for me to hear a guy ride up, fire off some impressive yelps, hear no response, then ride off. As he is riding away (noise still within hearing), a few soft yelps from my turkey call will often cause a gobbler to fire off, and unheard by the guy on the ATV. I'm sure I've even shot a couple longbeards without that guy nearby on the ATV hearing the shots, due to his inability to hear over his engine noise.

 

[catman529]

I'm very glad I don't hunt public land that allows ATVs. That would ruin it

 

[Setterman]

I'm very glad I don't hunt public land that allows ATVs. That would ruin it

Come on over and hunt with me granted the hunting is still good, but there are many times each season and sometimes in one day where a great hunt is spoiled by some idiot riding around calling.